Diving Into You | Fred Weasley

49 | Family Reunion

Harry stared at his godsister in complete shock. He felt Sirius from right next to him shakily put down his mug of coffee. "Naia?" he choked out in disbelief. Everyone stayed still and observed as he got up and slowly approached her, taking cautious steps as if she was some type of bomb.

She swallowed and stared at him silently from her seat, looking up at him as he rounded up to her. He got down on his knees, exhaling as he touched her face with so much care, it was like he wasn't truly convinced that she was right there in front of him. She looked much different now- her cheeks were sunken in from the lack of food. Her skin was pale and dull, the usual blood rush on her cheeks barely visible, and her eyes were dark and exhausted.

Molly Weasley clutched onto Arthur tightly as fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Remus followed Sirius, standing behind him in support, while Bill, Fleur, and Tonks were huddled in the corner, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were seated at the table, their cakes and dessert, long forgotten. Sirius traced his daughter's sunken cheeks and his lips quivered, "Is it really you?"

She smiled weakly, cupping his cheek with her hand and nodding. "More or less," she chuckled "Told you they couldn't take me if they tried..."

"Oh, puppy," Sirius exclaimed, clutching the hand she had on his face as he cried. He shook his head and held her face in his hands, "It's you, it's really you. You're here, you've come back! We've looked for you, your mother, Lupin and I, we barely slept a wink, we couldn't find you where have you been-"

"Naia, look at me for a moment," Lupin said from above her, staring into her eyes. He needed to know that she was really Naia and not under the Imperius curse. "What did you give me and your father for Christmas last year?"

She chuckled tiredly, "A bloody leash."

Remus looked at the others and gave them a nod, trying his best not to chuckle to himself. "I'll go and fetch Emmaline," Arthur said quickly.

"Where's mum?" Naia looked at her father. He brushed her hair back with a sigh, "Ran to the office. She only works two days a week now."

"I'll notify Dumbledore, Fred, and George," said Bill immediately. Sirius was still looking at her as if she would disappear at any moment. He clutched tightly to her hands and pulled her close to him, kissing her head repeatedly, muttering how sorry he was, over and over again. "It's not your fault, dad-

"It is! I should have taken care of you, been more careful. Stopped them from taking you-"

"They would've taken me either way," she sighed, looking into his eyes. Molly approached, pulling Naia into a hug, sniffling and muttering how she couldn't believe she was back. Mrs. Weasley looked at her face, "Oh, goodness! Look at you! What did they do to you?" she whimpered. Naia guessed she probably looked worse than she ever has.

Hermione grabbed her wrist, pulling her into a hug as she sobbed in her shoulder. "You're back, you're safe now..." she cried. Lupin gently warned them to be careful, spotting the weak look on Naia's face. Ginny wiped her tears on her sleeve and hugged her right after. Soon, she was pulled into Harry's arms, crushing her in a deep hug. "You alright?" he asked shakily.

"Yeah," she sniffed, "Always am," she pulled away and smiled at him, wobbling as her knees nearly gave out from standing. Ron caught her arms, "Easy now..." he said, gently leading her back to her seat. "Can I er- finish more of this cake? Sorry, I haven't had any food for over a month-"

"WHAT?!" Sirius and Mrs. Weasley exclaimed loudly. Mrs. Weasley started muttering "oh, dear, oh dear, oh, goodness," as she prepared what Naia could tell was a mountain of food they must've had for dinner. "We've got to get you checked by a healer-"